Star Trek: Google Logo Boldly Goes Interactive for 46th Anniversary

Google has come up with an interactive adventure game doodle to commemorate the 46th anniversary of the cult science fiction television series Star Trek.

The original series, created by Gene Roddenberry, was first shown on NBC in the US between 8 September, 1966 and 3 June, 1969. The doodle presents the characters from the series as letters from the Google logo: clicking on characters kicks off a short interactive tale.

The first G of the Google logo appears to be Spock, the first officer of the starship USS Enterprise, whereas the first O is Uhura. The third letter resembles Kirk, the captain of the USS Enterprise, while the fourth is Scotty.

L appears to be Sulu and the last E is the (often ill fated) red-shirted crew member. All characters stand on the bridge of the Enterprise.

The action starts with second O and the E entering the transporter room. They arrive on a strange planet, where they are attacked by an unfriendly alien.

Eventually, with the alien defeated, the crew return to the Enterprise while the iconic theme music plays in the background.

The doodle ends in classic Star Trek style with the USS Enterprise zooming past, leaving the Google letters in its wake against the backdrop of a starry sky.

One of the Star Trek doodle creators, Ryan Germick, told Entertainment Weekly: "It's something we've wanted to do for a long time. We had drawings and ideas for the past couple of years. We started putting it together in earnest three or four months back."

It is the second doodle by Google to commemorate a television series, the first being The Flintstones, the popular animated series whose 50th anniversary fell on 30 September, 2010.